S. 50B: Transfer of assets without monetary consideration is not a “slump sale”

The assessee transferred its manufacturing division to Novapan Industries Ltd under a scheme of amalgamation pursuant to which Novapan transferred investments worth Rs. 25.24 crore to the assessee and allotted shares worth Rs. 6.81 crore to the assessee’s shareholders. There was no monetary consideration. The AO held that the transfer of the manufacturing division was a “slump sale” and that it attracted s. 50B. He computed capital gains on that basis. The CIT(A) reversed the AO and held that there was no slump sale. On appeal by the department to the Tribunal HELD dismissing the appeal:S. 2(42C) defines a ‘slump sale’ to mean the transfer of one or more undertakings as a result of the sale for a lump sum consideration without values being assigned to the individual assets and liabilities in such sales. A plain reading of s. 2(42C) makes it clear that to qualify as a slump sale, two conditions have to be satisfied viz., (i) there must be transfer of one or more undertakings as a result of sale and (ii) the sale should be for a lump sum consideration without values being assigned to the individual assets and liabilities. The presence of money consideration is an essential element to a transaction of sale. If the consideration is not money but some other valuable consideration it may be an exchange or barter but not a sale. In the present case, as no monetary consideration was received by the assessee for transfer of the assets and liabilities of the manufacturing division to Novapan Industries Ltd, the transaction is not a “slump sale” and does not attract s. 50B (Motors and General Stores 66 ITR 692 (SC), R.R. Ramakrishna Pillai 66 ITR 725 & Avaya Global Connect 26 SOT 397 (Mum) followed)